Oh look, there’s a spider, a cobweb, a white sheet. No it’s not the contents of my loft, it’s the decoration in my local pub that they think constitutes something “spooky”. Oh hang on, there’s a plastic skull and pumpkin with a REALLY scary face carved in it. Ooooooooooh. That’s good isn’t it. Apparently it’s Halloween this week, a night usually where we sit in the dark with curtains closed and ignore the doorbell. I’m out at gig this year. I’ll be very disappointed if any of the bands dress up. And when I say dress up, I mean put some white makeup on, fake blood and, I dunno, dyed hair maybe. Christ sake.
Anyway, here’s Tracks of the Week, guaranteed to be more fun than a Halloween costume from Asda.
BUÑUEL – American Steel
Why we love it: because BUÑUEL are not content to have appeared in Tracks of the Week only three weeks ago, their music demands that they are back here once again. And the reason for their quick reappearance is ‘American Steel,’ another slice of molten industrial metal forged from the alloy furnace that is their latest album Mansuetude, a co-release between SKiN GRAFT and OVERDRIVE, that arrived digitally last Friday, with physicals now following on 15th November.
And what is even more, the American/Italian noise rock merchants are joined here by no less than guitarist Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, The Dension Kimball Trio and Tomahawk who says, “Eugene Robinson’s vocals have the effect of listening to a desperately flailing drowning man, and my guitar serves as a malfunctioning floatation device–it never quite makes it long enough to provide actual safety.”
Fasten your seatbelts. It is going to be a bumpy ride. (Simon Godley)
Ezra Furman & Alex Walton – Tie Me to the Train Tracks
Why we love it: because this is what can happen when two cultural stars align. Ezra Furman & Alex Walton have joined their considerable creative forces and produced not one, but two cracking tunes, their new collaborative single, ‘Tie Me to the Train Tracks’– featured here – as well as its B-side, ‘Beat Me Up.’
The Chicagoan indie-rocker Furman says: “I have met very few people who both understand the sheer psychospiritual power and potential of our inherited forms of popular music and can also execute the practical magic that creates new expressions of that music. Alex Walton is one of those very few people. She is a rock’n’roll goddess-waif who changed my life. We made this song in a burst of neurotic passion at her old house in Roxbury, Boston one chronically-ill afternoon. The chains of luv had got us in their mortal grasp and it all came pouring out. And there’s a B-side (‘Beat Me Up’) too, out of this miniature masochistic fragment I’d made up which she then made into a brilliant full song, played and recorded entirely by her, that hits hard and leaves a mark. I don’t know how she does it but I feel lucky to do it with her.”
Her fellow American recording artist Alex Walton adds: “It was an honour and a privilege to not only work with Ezra, but to have her in my house, writing and recording together, going to the porch with cigarettes and notebooks in our hands, trying to contextualize everything. We wanted to make something stripped down, noisy, harsh, but still delicate, beautiful, frail. I think we achieved this.”
Powered along by Walton’s crashing, squalling guitar chords over which Furman’s delightful falsetto keens, ‘Tie Me to the Train Tracks’ is an irresistible surge of penetrative rock’n’roll. (Simon Godley)
Angie Colman – Out Of The Headlights
Why We Love It: What is it about Out of the Headlights that keeps pulling us back for another listen? Maybe it’s the way Angie Colman’s voice moves between gentle, almost whispered confessions and moments of raw, unfiltered strength, or maybe it’s the sense of intimacy that grows as the track builds. Hit play and listen for yourself – can you feel that delicate tension? The song unfolds against a lush backdrop of guitars and softly stirring strings, that draw you into it. Those lingering pauses, the direct lyrics – it’s impossible to look away.
A new voice on this side of the earth, Angie Colman quickly gained recognition on Australia’s music scene for her unique blend of alt-pop, folk, and rock influences, drawing comparisons to the introspective depth of Bon Iver and the haunting quality of Phoebe Bridgers. This lead single is a trailer for her forthcoming EP which we’re very much looking forward to, produced by Ryan K Brennan (King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Julia Jacklin) and featuring the emotive strings of the FAMES Project – an Orchestral Music Recording Studio for the Film, Streaming and Media industries.
Colman describes the song as “about being directionless…then meeting someone whose kindness lets you feel whole again.” There’s a haunted beauty here, a subtle intensity that feels both relatable and cathartic. With lines like “Take me out of the headlights, then take me home,” Colman’s tentative journey from isolation to connection plays out before us, feeling every bit real as it is true. (Trev Elkin)
Keyside – Rhianna, Please Don’t Cry
Why we love it: Liverpool four-piece, Keyside, are front and centre of the burgeoning scene that is revitalising the city’s sound, with their buzz-worthy anthems, literate lyrics and breezy brand of guitar-driven pop. Fresh from supporting Blossoms, the quartet weave street-smart jangle-indie from the streets with the stylish introspection of bedroom pop. In ‘Rhianna Please Don’t Cry,’ Keyside continue to ride a wave that swelled earlier this year with their ‘radio hit’, ‘Nikita.’ Keyside have announced a new EP for early 2025, with leading indie label, Modern Sky. Dancing with buoyant contagious hooks, Dan Parker’s lush melismatic vocals weave through the ornate riffs as he dreams of taking a ‘ride out with you,’ shining light through the darkness. With a pervading sense of confinement, of living in the shadow of hurt, of feeling boxed-in by urban solitude ‘Rihanna, Please Don’t Cry‘s character study develops beneath glittering chandeliers of melody. With every chord, hook and steadfast beat, the four-piece paint rainbows over the same rain-soaked, North-Western streets of The Smiths, The La’s, The Coral and Blossoms themselves.
Parker says of the single: “This one’s about being young and wanting to escape from real life into something better in the company of someone new. Daydreaming of a time and place that’s better than this one. (Carmel Walsh)
Hyphen- Hate Yachts not Dinghies
Why we love it: Currently touring with Bob Vylan and with over 50 thousand monthly Spotify listeners Hyphen has been raising the roof with his whip-smart, witty political commentary, reflecting on racism, inequality, and mental health. In songs like ‘Three Pound Pints‘ he sings’ “People say go back to where you came from. I was LITERALLY born in Portsmouth.” Hyphen has been going to schools talking about mental health and how he turned it all around after s*icidal thoughts and a deep depression. He reflects on this during his live shows too with raw honesty charm, wit and humility, with banger after banger he enraptures the audience who chant back every hook-laden, witty and politically charged anthemic chorus.
Speaking of latest track, ‘Hate Yachts not Dinghies’,’ Hyphen said, “I am so proud of this song, because I’m so proud of my parents. I realised the main character of music may never have been me. It was two immigrants who moved to this country at my age. They hustled, they made shit work, they got racially abused, they were just so stressed, so often. All for their kids – the consequence of that? Me, shouting their story at your faces. December tickets are flying …come along for the last show and shout this shit with me. ” (Carmel Walsh)
L E M F R E C K – Slip Away
Why we love it: Welsh Music Prize winning, Newport artist L E M F R E C K returned recently with ‘Slip Away‘ a vibrant track that speeds through breakbeats, atmospheric R&B textures and slow motion breaks. It is laced with Lem’s unique delivery invested with a realisation about a relationship and the ensuing back and forth with the decision. It’s another vital offering from an artist who is set to break through to a wider consciousness.
L E M F R E C K speaks on the track, “Slip away is a running monologue on what it’s like to realise you’re not ready to commit to a person that evidently likes you. And through no other fault but timing. A realisation you can’t offer what a person needs right now”.
Alongside recent single ‘Come Outside En’, this is the first new music from L E M F R E C K since last year’s excellent album Blood, Sweat & Fears – announced as the Welsh Music Prize winner of 2024. (Bill Cummings)
Sarah Crean – Nosebleeds
Why we love it: Irish singer-songwriter Sarah Crean’s beguiled during her recent appearance at Swn festival so we had a little listen to her recorded work, and it’s just as good.
‘Nosebleeds’ is the excellent follow-up to her single ‘Compliments Strike’ which came out earlier this year. Co-written and produced by Chloe Kramer (known for her work with The Japanese House and Lava La Rue). With a strumming guitar, and a clip-clopping beat it’s a track with echoes of mid 90s jangle pop and the likes of Soccer Mommy. Ladled with Crean’s wonderful vocals, it unfurls from a lovesong into a bitter-sweet anthem as a cry for help from a controlling relationship where her voice had been silenced. The earworm quality of the chorus and the addition of synths lightens the mood, it’s a neat trick, and like some of the best indie pop songs, it juxtaposes upbeat qualities and feather-light melodies, with a wistful melancholy. An earworm indeed, from an artist with a lot of promise.
She says: “Nosebleeds started as an attempt at a love song and quickly became a cry for help. It carefully describes the ways in which you can be controlled by a partner, so much so that resorting to silence feels like the easy way out. I wrote it at a time where I didn’t feel like I had a voice, but now it feels like a triumph. And I’m hopeful it encourages that same feeling for others.” (Bill Cummings)
